LOL yes it is true Not every Prophet is mentioned by his name,but the teachings of the Holy Quran tell us that God sent Prophets to every nation, and quite a large number of them appeared all over the world, the ancient founders of these other religions too would have been Prophets and messengers of God.


In fact, wherever there are people following a sacred scripture older than the Quran, their religious founders mentioned in those Books,are accepted as true prophets of God.You know Buddha(PBUH) is mentioned in the Holy Quran by the name of Dhul­-Kifl, meaning "man of Kifl", where Kifl is the Arabic form of the name Kapeel (the capital of a small state situated on the border of India and Nepal) Buddha(PBUH) not only belonged to Kapeel, but was many times referred to as being "Of Kapeel". This is exactly what is meant by the word "Dhul-Kifl" Apart from the evidence of the Quran, there is one reference from the hadith(tradition) reported from the Holy Prophet (PBUH) which speaks of an Indian prophet by name. In his words:
"There was a prophet of God in India who was dark in colour and his name was Kahan."
Now if u know atleast a lil bit about the history of Indian religions,you would immediately connect this description to Lord Krishna(PBUH), who is invariably described in the Hindu literature as being dark of complexion. Also, the title Kanhaya is added to his name Krishna(PBUH). Kanhaya contains the same consonants K,N,H as does the name Kahan.There is no denying the fact that the Holy Quran makes it incumbent on every Muslim not only to believe in all the prophets, but once again it also clearly informs us that in every region of the world and in every age, God did raise messengers and prophets.

ps: I really like the fact that u said (PBUH) after mentioning a prophets name it means "Peace be upon him"

I was just about to ask if Hindu deities are also considered as Prophets in the Holy Book of the Quran! Thanks for answering the question Pun! Peace be upon you..




I think Kapeel meant Kapilavastu. According to legend, the Buddha, whose father ruled the state of Kapilavastu, was born nearby..

Hi, how are you all?

I got news about weird stuff going around in this thread. When I looked, I realised how far away from knowledge some people have drifted. So far, that they have based their beliefs on things which contradict the basics.

I have a few points initially:

Firstly about Prophet Adam, the father of all humans. God created for him a wife (Eve). Prophet Adam was revealed to about how to live on the earth and about the names of all things. He believed in God. He was a Prophet - like all Prophets - protected from ever committing blasphemy and enormous sins. However, Prophets might commit small sins - such as the sin that Prophet Adam committed - however, they quickly repent from it. One thing to also note is that no Prophet ever commits a dirty sin, if you know what I mean.

Most of what I'm going to say now is mainly aimed at pun187.

The point that I want to make clear is that it is illogical that the Messengers of God were calling people to believe in different creeds. It is not only illogical but it also contradicts the Qur'aan.

Ayah 85 of Surat Al ^Imraan means that if one selects a religion other than Islaam, it will not be accepted from him.

Hence, the logical belief is to believe that all Messengers of God called to believe in God - and not to worship other than Him.

as'salamalaikum warahmatullahe wabarakatohu

1st of all did you ever studied another religion besides Islam ??? I mean studied not practiced! If no,then I ask you,how can u say that these Prophets were "calling ppl to believe in different creeds" ??? you as a educated muslim should know that according to one saying of the prophet Mohammed the number of prophets who were chosen to convey the message of God to mankind is 124,000.The prophets always brought the same message of Pure Monotheism "there is only one god worship him",but the humans afterall changed the true message for their own favours.The names of all of them are not mentioned anywhere,but we have to belief in all the prophets and their messages is an integral part of the belief of every Muslim or we're doing Kuffr.

The Holy Quran states

So Wherever and to whichever ppl's prophets have been sent, they are our (Muslims) prophets as well, and we have to hold them in great reverence.


Now the Hadhrat Adam(PBUH) part ,he probably lived about 6,000 years ago.Most probably he was born in present day of Iraq. He is popularly believed to be the first man created by God upon earth. This view is, however, wrong! The world has passed through different cycles of creation and civilization, and Adam (PBUH) is the progenitor of the present human race,he's only the first link in the present cycle, and not the very first man in Gods creation. Nations have risen and fallen, civilizations have appeared and perished, and many other cycles of human civilization may have appeared and disappeared.It doesn't, however mean that the race, which lived b4 Adam (PBUH), was entirely swept away b4 he was born. Most likely, there had remained a small degenerated remnant of the old race and Adam(PBUH) was one of them. God then selected him to be the progenitor of a new race and the precursor of a new civilization.He was the first Prophet of God, and was raised for the guidance of mankind. God taught him the knowledge and made him leader of men.

I can see two divergent strains of interpretations here.

I would say pun187's interpretation is a pretty inclusive and humanistic acknowledging the truth of every major religion, while samsparky, while probably technically correct, is exclusive in beseeching the listener to surrender or else..

Are Hinduism, Buddhism prophetic religions? I can say for sure that Taoism and Confucianism are definitely not prophetic, thus Laotze and Confucius cannot be said to be Prophets, but merely teachers without the holy halo.

Even though pagan chinese pray to them (Laotze and Confucius) in temples, but more like in the tradition of ancestor worship than anything!



Does Islam also believe in the Christian concept of Original Sin? That all humans are born with sin, and need to be saved?

Ill just show you guys some examples,this is my last reply to the "prophets" topic,cuz it is very difficult for someone with not so much knowledge about religion in general to understand this and Im going too off topic LOL If someone wants a debate just start a new thread in the D/P/R forum









Now is this teaching different from Islam ??? It teaches that there is one God,do not worship anybody but Him!!!

How strange these words are.

Did you not look to the Verses and Hadeeths which explicitly say that Prophet Adam was created from clay and that from him, his wife Eve was created?? For example, surat an-Nisaa', ayah 1 which tells us that God created us from a single person and from that person his wife.

Also, surah Al-israh ayah 61 tells us about when satan protested to God because he didn't want to prostrate to one made from clay.

Also in the Hadeeth it is mentioned about the creating of Adam, how it was in Paradise. An Angel was ordered to get from the different soils of the earth, the dark, light, soft and rough and Adam's body was made from that. Then when God ordered the Angel to blow the created soul into Adam, Adam sneezed and said AlHamdulillaah.

This is basics that everyone knows....

And it's completely backed up.

The civilisations that were destroyed were like when the flood of Prophet Noah occured. Or when the city of Sadoom was destroyed.

But Prophet Adam being the first human and first Prophet is something strongly evidenced.

No Islam does not believe in Original sins.

In Islam we believe that when a child is born they are free from sins and are innocent... and that Allah states in the Quran .. surah An-Najm ayah 38... Translated as

' that no burdened person ( with sins) shall bear the burden (sins) of another'

In Islam.. we are accountable for our own actions and not the actions of others.

Adam(PBUH) was not the 1st man on earth,according to Islam!!!Quran shows us that human beings were in existence before Hadhrat Adam(PBUH)! but they were not yet able to bear the responsibility of revealed Law. They lived in caves and in mountain fastnesses. It is for this reason that the Quran has called them by the name of JINN, which means literally those that dwell out of sight. Some people have applied this word to the genii of tales and fables, but the Quran does not support this interpretation!

Adam was not in Paradise!!! (Paradise is a place for spirits only!!!)
The quran says that Hadhrat Adam(PBUH) and his ppl went out of the garden (which again, according to the Quran was a region of the earth and is not to be confused with Paradise!!!). God warned them against Iblis(Satan) "who was one of the JINN" and told them to be careful of him and his people as they would all have to live together upon the earth wherein they would spend their spans of existence and wherein they would die

7: 26. HE said, `Therein shall you live and therein shall you die and therefrom shall you be brought forth.'

7: 27. O children of Adam, WE have indeed send down to you raiment to cover you nakedness and to be a means of adornment; but the raiment of righteousness - that is the best. That is of the commandments of Allah, that they may remember.

7: 28. O children of Adam, let not Satan seduce you, even as he turned your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment that he might show them their nakedness. Truly, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you see them not. Surely, WE have made Satan friends of those who believe not.

read Sura Al-A`raf ayat 12 :And We did create you and then We gave you shape: then said We to the angels, 'Submit to Adam"

The Ayat means that God created man and then gave shape to his faculties and then commanded the angels to bow down to Hadhrat Adam(PBUH) This verse also clearly shows that man had been in existence prior to the time of Hadhrat Adam(PBUH). The developments of man's intellectual faculties indicates that before the appearance of Hadhrat Adam(PBUH) man had already passed through several stages of evolution. The verse indicates that after man was created his faculties developed from stage to stage and assumed different shapes and he began to be distinguished from the other animal creations around him and when his intellect was developed to a certain degree, Hadhrat Adam(PBUH) was created and God sent His revelation to him!!!


Quran also clarifies that Adam (PBUH) is not unique in being created from clay/dust as all mankind including Jesus (PBUH) were created in a similar way,so don't we have a mother or father ??? Are we the the 1st human beings ??? Was jesus(PBUH) the 1st human ??? Contrary to the Bible which mentions Adam as having been exclusively created from dust. Quran says, "Surely, the case of Jesus with Allah is like the case of Adam. He created him out of dust, and then He said to him, 'Be' and he was" (Imran 3:60). Similarly about the creation of whole of mankind Quran says, "And of His signs is that He created you from dust; then behold, you are men spreading over the earth." (Al-Rum 30:21)

have a nice day

ps Alhamdulillah I LOVE this thread , its so much fun!!! congrats Afif this is the best thread you've ever made !!!

Hello samsparky, I am not being facetious here, how could Prophet Adam be speaking Arabic?

At the time of the Prophet's life in circa 630AD, were the peoples of Arabia believers of these 'jinns' that has been mentioned in the Quran?

subHaanallaah

Did you not remember that Allaah gave Adam the knowledge of the names of everything???



You just shock me again and again........

Jinn are not humans - they are created from the pure flame of fire. That is mentioned in the Qur'aan.

subHaanallaah - so strange.

Really? But in what language, surely not Arabic?

you need to gain more knowledge brother!!! JINN literally means anything which has the connotation of concealment, invisibility, seclusion and remoteness. It also has the connotation of thick shades and dark shadows. That is why the word "jannah" (from the same root word) is employed by the Quran to denote paradise, which would be full of thick, heavily shaded gardens. The word jinn is also applicable to snakes which habitually remain hidden from common view and live a life secluded from other animals in rock crevices and earthen holes.It is also applied to women who observe segregation and to such chieftains as keep their distance from the common ppl. The inhabitants of remote, inaccessible mountains are likewise referred to as jinn. Hence, anything which lies beyond the reach of common sight or is invisible to the unaided naked eye, could well be described by this word!!!

That's not knowledge, it's exquisite poetry!

jinns are probably the Quranic version of the 'forest peoples'.. the whole history of mankind has been about the displacement of furtive forest peoples by invading hordes of nomads, pastoralists, agriculturalists...

The Indian literature Mahabharata is also a godly account of how forested peoples clashed with those pastoralists/nomads who probably came from central asia (on chariots) and all...

From what i see from Pun's replies and belief

I think pun's ideas might reflect that he is following a sect that is not recognised by the mainstream of Muslims - that would account for all the different ideas.

so there is no point in aruging anymore about this.. because its going to get nowhere.

may Allah guide u in knowing the truth.

and may Allah continue to guide me and may Allah forgive me for my short comings

and i tried telling my fellow Af members the true Islam based on the Quran and the Authentic Hadith.

and im not here to argu with anyone.. im here just to invite and inform u of the belief of Islam...which i have already posted.

and that the truth is distinctive from the false

adios.

Thank you gula_jawa.

I hope you and the others will continue to share with us the views of mainstream islam while pun187 and others can enlighten us about the other sects of islam.

It's all good. I believe its of great benefit to share the different interpretations rather than quarrel over the interpretations.

Pun POV kinda interesting... this is the first time i read views from other sects..

May Allah S.W.T bless us al..l

ok guys. i have a questions that has been bugging me for many many years.
I went religious class, and my teachers said consumption of alcoholic drinks are forbidded.
But i do see may muslim man n woman consuming it. And when i asked them, they say its alright, just tat they cant pray for the next 30 days or so, after which they can. And then there are those who says you can drink as long as you dont get drunk. So guys, can u please clear my doubt.

Life ain't that easy sis ,I think you're probably following somewhat a sect (are u sunni ???) and exept their teachings,Im following the quran and the hadith.You know what the problem whit many muslims is,they don't study Islam by theirselfs! they need a Mullah or a Mufti to tell them if "this and that" is allowed in islam or not,they don't recitate the quran and try to find out the truth from the quran itself! I hope you ain't that kind of Muslim,b4 I step out for now,Ill just quote my Old Sig 2 "just bc your parents brought you up this way does not mean that it is the right way! And just bc the mainstream muslims aka Sunnis don't recognise me as a muslim does not mean that Im wrong or not a muslim !!! look at the ppl in Afghanistan they were following the taliban blindly without trying to find out the truth by themselfs,is this the real Islam ??? Now if a Muslim says Adam(PBUH) was the 1st human and a non-muslim asks him,that if it is so,is then all the mankind, that is found in different parts of the world like America and Australia, the descendants of the same Adam? oh wait let me ask this question to you gula jawa or samsparky you guys don't need to answer me if u don't want to.My answer is that mankind existed even before him, as is hinted by the Quran itself, when it says to Adam, "I am about to place a Khalifa in the earth." As Khalifa means successor, it is clear that man existed even before Adam! Hence we cannot say whether the original inhabitants of America, Australia etc. are the progeny of this last Adam(PBUH) or some other Adam gone b4 him.(ADAM means Man of the Earth).And saying that Adam(PBUH) was made out of clay does not mean that he was the 1st man! just like I said b4 the Quran also clarifies that Adam (PBUH) is not unique in being created from clay/dust as all mankind including Jesus (PBUH) were created in a similar way,so are we the the 1st human beings ??? Was jesus(PBUH) the 1st human ??? Contrary to the Bible which mentions Adam as having been exclusively created from dust. Quran says, "Surely, the case of Jesus with Allah is like the case of Adam. He created him out of dust, and then He said to him, 'Be' and he was" (Imran 3:60). Similarly about the creation of whole of mankind Quran says, "And of His signs is that He created you from dust; then behold, you are men spreading over the earth." (Al-Rum 30:21).You can see from scientific discoveries that man spread to various parts of the earth in its early stages of development. The evolutionary tree of human race sprang from the same root and spread in the form of branches, sub-branches and further sub-branches over different parts of the world. After man creation God gave him proper form and provided him with the appropriate guidance (Taha 20:51). He, therefore, sent His Successors (Khalifas) as Adam(PBUH) in each branch and sub-branch as soon as man as a result of evolutionary process became capable enough, physically, intellectually, socially and spiritually to receive, understand and follow His guidance. The only Prophet who was sent to and addressed the whole of mankind was Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. The word "Adam" used in the Quran may also stand allegorically for the sons of Adam or mankind.The branches and sub-branches of human tree having spread forth in different parts of the world, passed through different cycles of rise and fall, destruction and progress, ignorance and guidance, even much before all last Adam, who appeared 5,985 years ago! thats enough for today I need some rest now till later

ps Ill wait for an answer from gula jawa or samsparky,we don't need to go too off topic so better pm me ur answer LOL if you want ofcourse

It is completely forbidden for a muslim do drink alcohol,exept if it is used in medicine like in Homeopathic medicine ect. ect.

^ I find it funny you didn't bite on the "no prayer for 30 days" part.
That really goes against the whole praying 5 times a day requirement.


Nice clan.
I don't know how often I'll be online anymore, but I'll definitely be lurking around here.

First off I would like to say that the discussions between Pun and samsparky regarding Adam was quite enlightening. I'm not quite sure if either side were on the wrong or on the right, perhaps it's a matter of different interpretations? As Muslims, I believe it's best if we stay far away from discrediting our own brothers and sisters, from the whole "you are wrong, I am right" thinking, and use discussions to gain further enlightenment instead of further discontent amongst one another.

I do agree though with Pun about studying Islam for ourselves, not just merely following what our parents or other authorities have told us about it. I mean we do need guidance in our quest to strengthen our faith, but the best enlightenment comes from within. There is a saying somewhere in the Qur'an, I forgot where (and I have been feverishly trying to find it again ), that true faith comes from within. Meaning that it cannot be forced from the outside or 'taught' from the outside without any sort of 'realization/enlightenment' from the inside.



From what I know, Islam asks for moderation from all Muslims, most especially in our actions. Which means that we should strive not to fall into any kind of excessiveness. From say excessive eating, being on the Internet, in our emotions, in our actions, etc. If we fall into excessiveness we have open the door for ourselves to get hurt or for the people we love to get hurt. That is why we should always strive for moderation.

Thus, my opinion on drinking is that the reason why it is haram is because it is a substance that impairs our faculties and makes us easy to fall into excessiveness and hurt ourselves and the people we love in return.
There are people who can drink in moderation, without letting the substance impair them or let the situation get out of control, but from what I have seen these people are small in number and do not have a blemish-free record of being "in control". Thus drinking in moderation does not guarantee that we will not succumb to the lures of excessiveness, especially if we are amongst our peers or are going through difficult situations in our lives...

This is why, personally, I stay away from alcohol. The negatives of consuming it far outweight the positives, in my opinion.

As for the 30 days of not praying, I really don't know where they got that from. maybe somoene else here can better clarify that part of your question...insya allah.

Ok,guys.
I think we should start with the basics first.
Maybe we should first discuss about, 'What is Islam?'
No point going into details which will be so complicated for the new learners to understand.
Also, we don't want to see clashes between Muslims in this forum.
So I hope you guys will know your stuffs before any postings are being made.
Thank you.

LOL good idea

Ill start :P I hope nobody minds

Islam, a name given by Allah(arabic word for GOD) to this religion, is an Arabic word which literally means obedience and peace. ISLAM is derived from the Arabic root "SALEMA"(peace, purity, submission and obedience) So "Islam" would mean the path of those who are obedient to GOD and who establish peace with Him and His creatures. Its follower are called Muslims.

Islam is not a new religion. It is, in essence, the same message and guidance which Allah revealed to all prophets before Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him(maybe some of you guys again disagree with me LOL but you can't disagree withe the quran! ). Allah says in the Qurân:



The Six main facts of faith in Islam
Muslims believe...

- in the Oneness of GOD.

- in all His Angels.

- in all His Books.

- in all His Prophets.

- in the Day of Resurrection.

- in the Decree of Allah
(If you have questions about the main facts,feel free to ask )

The Five Pillars of Islam (Declaration of the Islamic Faith)

In order to enter into the fold of Islam i.e. to be Muslim, one has to know/believe/accept totally and sincerely apply the five basic principles aka "Pillars" on which Islam is based: Ibn Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah - Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: Islam is based on the following five pillars (principles)

- Bearing witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

- Observance of Prayer (Worship is common to all religions,what differs is only the manner and style of worship.That which is unique in Islamic mode of worship is that it contains features from the mode of prayers found in other religions.Some ppl pray to God in a standing posture and some in a sitting posture. In some religions ppl remember God by kneeling to Him, while others bow down to Him. Some stand before Him with folded arms, and others with arms hanging at their sides. In short there is no single mode of worship common to all religions as a whole.It's fascinating however to note that Islam instructs its followers concerning the manner of prayer so comprehensively, that all the postures of worship found in other religions are symbolically represented in the mode of Muslim prayer.Another step forward in the direction of ushering in an era of universal religion, it seems)

- Paying Zakat (Charity towards man, in the widest sense of the word, is the cornerstone of the Islamic society and a constant theme in the Quranic teachings. There are two kinds of charities in Islam.The obligatory and the voluntary. The obligatory charity is called Zakat while the voluntary charity is called Sadaqah)

- Fasting during Ramadhan (The institution of fasting is extremely important bc it cultivates the believer in almost every area of his spiritual life. Among other things, he learns through personal experience about what hunger, poverty, loneliness and discomforts mean to the less fortunate sections of society. Abstention from even such practices during the month of Ramadhan as are permissible in everyday life plays a constructive role in refining the human character.)

- Pilgrimage to the house of Allah (The fifth act of Islamic worship is the performing of the Hajj or the pilgrimage to Mecca.A Muslim must perform this pilgrimage at least once in his lifetime if economic and political conditions are favourable.The focal point of this pilgrimage is the Kaba, which was rebuilt by Prophet Abraham some 4,000 years ago. Today, the Kaba stands in the middle of a large courtyard of Masjid al Haram or the Sacred Mosque. The courtyard of Masjid al Haram contains, besides Kaba, the Maqam a Ibrahim and the fountain of Zamzam.)

I enjoyed this post tremendously. It makes me feel closer to the teachings of surrender - 'Islam'. I am a yogi and the teachings of the ancient sages of India, as well as Buddha, Taoists etc say exactly the same thing that moderation in life is needed, and self-realization must be experienced from within, however, self-discipline is critical, not only in words, but our actions and thoughts.

I have a Singaporean muslim colleague of Yemen blood, who tells me that only Allah will judge her for her sin of drinking, no other muslims nor non-muslims can judge her. And she will pay her own price when the time comes. So let us not judge others but look within ourselves instead, to see if the faults we see in others are reflected in ourselves as a mirror..

If I ever finish with my notes (and I have alot of freetime now, so it's fairly realistic), remind me to PM you.
I am very interested in learning about Islam for this very reason.

I don't see Islam as a solution, but merely as a stepping stone.
Islam is not without problems; Muhammad (pbuh) will not bear our final revelation.

Allaah gave Adam the knowledge of all the languages.

It is not as they say that the first humans were cave people who communicated by actions and that fire was somehow discovered and bla bla bla - they say that because they want to say that they think we came from animals.

If you want information on the logical refutation of such theories I can expand in shaa' Allaah.

But it is important to know that Adam, his wife and children - although they were the first humans - they were informed about how to live. How to plant, how to use fire, how to speak.

They also did not resemble animals. They were not hairy!! The description of Prophet Adam is mentioned in Islamic references. He was much taller than humans now and Eve was created to suit his height. The people in Paradise will be in his height.







I don't see in your reply the name of any famous Arab linguist who said that.

And you can't deny the fact that it is mentioned in Islaam that Jinn are a type of creation that are made from fire - their father is satan.



It is mentioned by Prophet MuHammad that those who call themselves Muslim will be divided into more than 70 groups - only 1 will go to Paradise out of them - the mainstream.

Why?

Because the others went off the mainstream and stopped following the teachings of the Prophet, Companions, Mujtahid scholars and the trustworthy passers of knowledge.

"The best deed is the belief in Allah and His Messenger." (Al-Bukhariyy)

What is Islam? Linguistically, Islam means submission. According to Islamic terminology, Islam means a specified submission. It is the submission to what the prophet brought. This takes place by uttering the THE TWO TESTIFICATIONS OF FAITH. Belief, on the other hand, linguistically means certitude. According to Islamic terminology, it means a specified certitude. It is to accept as true what the prophet brought. The least of Belief is to belief in the THE TWO TESTIFICATIONS OF FAITH. Islam and Belief cannot be disassociated. One of them is not accepted without the other, although their original meaning are not identical. Imam Abu Hanifah said in Al-Fiqh Al-'Akbar: "Islam is not acceptable without Belief and Belief is not accepted without Islam. They are like the front of something and its back." Islam is the Religion of all the prophets.

What are the Two Testifications of Faith? The Two Testifications of Faith are: I bear witness that no one is God except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad the son of ^Abdillah is the prophet of Allah. The non-Muslim embraces Islam by believing in the Two Testifications of Faith and uttering them with the intention of leaving out blasphemy. The first Testification means that no one or thing deserves to be worshipped except God Who is the Creator of everything.The second Testification states that Muhammad the son of ^Abdillah who was born in Makkah about 1400 years ago is a messenger of God. He was sent to convey what God revealed to him so that the humans believe in and work with the Laws he received and brought. He is truthful in all what he conveyed. The Two Testifications reject the Godhood of anyone or anything other than God. They confirm the Godhood of God only with the acknowledgment of the message of prophet Muhammad.

Basic Islamic Belief One has to believe that the Creator, Allah, exists, and is not similar to anything. He is the only Creator and the only One Who deserves to be worshipped. He does not need anything and everything needs Him. God has Attributes of perfection that befit Him and any imperfection is not attributable to Him. Any imperfection, such as ignorance, place, direction, body, soul, organ, children, change or weakness, is not attributed to God. The rule is simple: Whatever you imagine in your mind, God is different from it. God sent messengers the first of them was Adam and the last one was Muhammad. All the messengers, including Jesus and Moses, were truthful, ordered their people to believe in One God, Allah, and not to associate any partner with Him. Hence, their Religion was the same: Islam.

How Does One Become a Muslim? One becomes a Muslim by believing in the Two Testifications of Faith and uttering them with the intention of leaving out blasphemy. The Two Testifications of Faith are: I bear witness that no one is God except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.

Who is Prophet Muhammad the son of ^Abdillah? Prophet Muhammad was born in Makkah in Arabia in 6th century. His father was ^Abdullah the son of ^Abd al-Muttalib, the son of Hashim the son of ^Abdi Manaf from the tribe of Quraysh- the head of the Arab tribes. His father died while his mother was still pregnant with him. He was raised by his grandfather, the head of Quraysh, after the death of his mother. His uncle Abu Talib, later on took care of him and supported him. He received the revelation in Makkah when he was 40 years old and stayed in Makkah after that for 13 years. He immigrated to al-Madinah and lived there for 10 years before he died there. His age was 63 years old when he died. He was buried in al-Madinah and it is rewardable to visit his grave there. Prophet Muhammad revived the call for Islam after Jesus was raised and after none of the Muslim followers of Jesus were alive. Prophet Muhammad conveyed that there will be no prophet after him, and Jesus will come back to rule according to his teachings. This was also revealed to the prophet in the Qur'an . Qur'an spoke about other prophets like: Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, and Jesus. All of those prophets were prophets of Islam. Prophet Muhammad exerted successful efforts in calling for Islam and was supported by God with miracles. By that, prophet Muhammad proved to others that he is a prophet and truthful. Before the death of prophet Muhammad his companions reached about 100,000 Muslims. Today, the Muslims are about 1 billion. Since the time of the prophet, Muslims have kept, one generation after the other, conveying the teachings and following the rulings of prophet Muhammad. Believing in Islam is not valid if one does not believe in prophet Muhammad and that he is the final messenger.

What is the Qur'an? The Qur'an is revelation from God to the prophet. Neither angel Gabriel, nor prophet Muhammad composed the Qur'an. The Qur'an was revealed by Allah and conveyed by the prophet. The Qur'an is a long-lasting miracle. The prophet challenged others, Arabs and non-Arabs, to bring something like it. The challenge is still valid. None was able to bring anything like it and no one will be able to do that.God promised to save Qur'an from perversion. This is readily noticed. Today, all over the world, Muslims refer to one Qur'an. Qur'an is written in the book of al-Mushaf. Al-Mushaf is one. Muslims follow today, as always, the same Mushaf. If one goes back in history, one will still see that Muslims had one Mushaf- the same Mushaf which we refer to it today. As a matter of fact, the original copies of the Mushaf which was written by the companions is still available in Muslim museums in Turkey and other countries. Muslim children and adults memorize all the Qur'an by heart. This is an Islamic tradition which was preserved since the time of the companions of the prophet. One generation of Muslims will convey Qur'an to the next generation. They keep following the methods for reciting Qur'an as these methods were originally conveyed by prophet Muhammad. The lineage to the prophet is extremely strong. From here, one realizes that it is impossible to tamper with Qur'an. The Qur'an is the evidence Muslims use to learn about and rule according to Islam. Muslims also refer to the traditions conveyed by prophet Muhammad called Sunnah which is also revelation. The Muslims also refer to the unanimous agreement of the top Muslim scholars on religious issues. Ruling on new issues is established based on proofs given by Qur'an, Sunnah and consensus following a particular method for deducing judgments. Only individuals who are highly qualified may deduce judgments in Islam.

Some of the Attributes of Allah God has Attributes of perfection which befit Him. Some of these are Existence, Existence without a beginning, Existence without an end, Oneness, Non-resemblance to creations, non-neediness to creations, Life, Will, Power, Knowledge, Hearing, Sight and Speech without letters, sounds or languages.
ISLAMIC OBLIGATORY KNOWLEDGE



“The person whom Allah willed to grant goodness, Allah makes him knowledgeable about the Religion.” (Al-Bukhariyy)

What is Islamic Obligatory Knowledge? Islamic Obligatory Knowledge is the knowledge that every accountable person is obligated to know. It includes the knowledge of Islamic Belief, cases of Islamic Law about Purification, Prayer, Fasting and the like. It also includes knowledge of the rules pertaining to dealings and contracts. One has also to learn the Obligatory Knowledge about the sins of the heart and body organs like the tongue, stomach, hands, private parts and the like.

I would like to thank all of you who have given good explanation here.

So r u saying its ok to drink as long as its not in excessiveness and i don't get drunk? So its alrigt if i were to take sip then?

^
Nope. Alchohol is strictly forbidden, except if you use it for medicine. Even though you only drink a sip, it counts as a sin. It's the same as pork/ham, if you eat only a tiny bit, it's still a sin. Alchohol isnt only dangerous for drunkness, it also effects your whole system. I'm not a genious in alchohol, so please anyone that knows more, tell us more.

Thanks sparky, but can you answer this also?

I said it b4 Im not here to debate! If you want to debate just create a new thread in the D/P/R forum.
But Ill awnser these points right now
Im not denying the fact that Jinns(devils) are made of fire,I know that they are described as having been born out of blasts of fire (from the cosmos).But what i wrote was about the word "JINN" in general and you can't deny that the word "JINN" is applicable to anything which lies beyond the reach of common sight or is invisible to the naked eye, got yourself an Arabic lexicon!!! Now when the quran tells us that the creatures b4 Adam(PBUH) were Jinns,it does not mean that they were devils,it could be everything which dwelled out of sight bc again this is what the word Jinn literally means "dwell out of sight".If you apply this word to the genii of tales and fables,then I'll say,In my view the Quran doesn't support your interpretation!

Now to the next part which shows me again that you need to gain more knowledge about Islam,Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) said that the Ummah will be devided into 73 sections(sects) then he mentioned that all will be in fire except one. Meaning 72 sects will be in fire while one will be safe! When someone asked him who the safe ones will be,the Prophet (PBUH) replied "They are those who will be like me and my companions"! Now you brother samsparky tell me are the "mainstream" muslims you are referring to like the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions ??? the "mainstream" muslims who are in Palestine ??? they are killing innocent women and children(which is forbidden! even in war! ) through suicide bombings(Suicide is forbidden in Islam!),or the "mainstream" muslims in Saudi Arabia ??? where women have not the same rights as men!!!(women and men are equal in Islam) Or Afghanistan and Pakistan where honour killings are happening every day in the name of "Islam" even tough it has nothing to do with Islam!!! Or Sudan where blacks are suppressed(all humans are equal in Islam) by whom ? mainstream Muslims!!! So according to your understanding these "mainstream" muslims will go to Paradise,right ???

I knew you had to be a Sufi (pun187)! Open the door!

2

who knows who I am!
I am not in the mosque of the believer,
Nor in false rites.
I am not in the pure or the impure.
Neither Moses nor Pharaoh.
Who knows who I am!
I am not in the vedas or holy books,
Not in drug or wine.
Not in the drunkards wasted intoxication,
Not in wakefulness or sleep.
Who knows who I am!
I am not in sorrow nor in joy,
Neither in clean nor unclean.
I am not water, I am not earth,
I am not fire, I am not air.
Who knows who I am!
I am not from Arabia or Lahore,
Nor from India or Nagaur.
Neither a hindu or muslim from Peshawar,
Nor do I live in Nadaun.
Who knows who I am!
I cannot be unearthed in the mysteries of religion.
I was not born of Adam and Eve.
I am not the name I assume.
I am not in stillness, not in movement.
Finally, I only know myself!
I cannot know any other.
Who could be wiser than I ?
Who then, stands by ?
Who knows who I am!

Tangawizi:

For your question, I can give you some info.

It is known that God gave Prophet Solomon a power over the jinn kind and so they would obey him. This was really special because jinn have more ability than humans in some things – like they can fly and move heavy things from place to place. And they could go down to the deep sea and get pearls.

At Prophet MuHammad’s time, there were people who had not yet met with him. One of them heard a voice without seeing the speaker. It was a voice telling in a poetic way to send the salaam to Prophet MuHammad and that Prophet Jesus, the son of Mary, told to follow Prophet MuHammad. After the man and the people with him met with the Prophet, it was discovered that that was actually a jinn believer from Prophet Jesus’s time.

It is highly likely that people did know about jinn from stories from their ancestors.

Pun:

Did I say that mainstream = sunni???

Mainstream is every person who takes the knowledge and follows it as the Prophet taught it to his Companions and they taught it to the Taabi^oon and they taught it to the Salaf after them who taught it to the khalaf who taught it to their students and whomever from us who learnt from this chain and followed it.

^^ sorry for calling you brother, sister

ISLAM, THE TRUE RELIGION

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. May Allah raise the rank of our master Muhammad and his Al and Companions and protect his nation from that which he fears for it.

ALLAAH
Everything that exists, except Allah the Creator, is created by Him (The words "He", "His", and "Him" used in reference to Allah must not be construed to refer to gender). Allah has full power over every bit of His creation. Allah is not created; He existed always, having His attributes. Allah will never perish, nor will His attributes diminish. The attributes of Allah are uncountable, among which are: He has knowledge of all His creation; He sees the seeable things; and He hears the hearable things. His knowing, seeing and hearing are in no way similar to ours. Allah's Kalam (Speech) is not made up of language or sound, nor does it resemble the speech of man in any way. Allah does not need any of His creation for His existence and He does not resemble any of His creation in any way. This means that Allah is not a man or a woman; He is not "a Father" or "a Mother". Allah does not have a wife, a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter; He has no equal or partner. Allah does not divide into parts. No creation has "a part of Allah” in him, nor can any creation become like Allah. He is the only God.
Allah existed eternally before He created any of the places, such as Paradise, the skies, Earth, or the planets. Hence, we know Allah is now as He was before He created all these places; He does not need any place for His existence. Allah has always known about every part of His creation; there is no thing in His creation which escapes His knowledge or defeats Him. No thing goes against the will of Allah . Both good and evil occur by Allah's will. However, Allah orders humans to do only the good; humans make the choice to obey or disobey Allah. Our ability to do good or evil is given to us by Allah, the Exalted.

HUMANITY
Men and women are creations of Allah. They are distinct from plants, animals, jinn, and angels. They were created after the angels and jinn. The first man was created from clay. Allah puts a soul, which He created, in the human being, but in no way is man's soul Allah , or "a part of Allah". The first man was Adam, and all human beings come from his family. Adam had no mother or father; he was created and given life by Allah. Allah created a wife for Adam who bore his children. Allah created the human beings to order them to believe, profess the truth about Allah and His messengers, worship Allah only, and follow His orders during their life on Earth. Some of mankind do worship Allah correctly and obey His orders. These will be rewarded beyond imagination in Paradise. Some of mankind do not worship Allah correctly and will be severely punished by Allah in Hellfire.

JINN
Jinn are distinct creations of Allah, who are invisible to humans. The ancestor of all jinn is Satan. He was first a believer, then he blasphemed. Allah created him from the pure flame of fire. The jinn are male and female and have offspring. They exist here on Earth and elsewhere. Like the humans, some jinn worship Allah , but some do not. The ones who do not are known as the devils, whose head is Satan.

ANGELS
Angels are another distinct creation of Allah. They are not male or female and have no children. Allah created them from light. They never sin. They obey Allah in every matter. Humans have angels near them that record all they do. Some angels have appeared to people in the form of men (Some angels may appear to people in the form of men, but without sexual organs.) but they never take a woman's shape. Some angels protect people from jinn by Allah's will. Gabriel (Jibril) was the angel who conveyed the Revelations to the prophets.

PROPHETS
Prophets are the greatest men that ever lived. Prophets received Revelation from Allah and conveyed it to the people. The prophets received the Revelations and conveyed them in the language that Allah ordered. The language of the scriptures is created, but Allah's Kalam (Speech) is not. (The Kalam of Allah, has two meanings: one meaning refers to the eternal and everlasting attribute of Allah by which He orders, prohibits, promises, and threatens. Allah's Kalam is not composed of letters, words, language, or sound. The other meaning is the expression of Allah's eternal attribute which was revealed in the authentic Books of revelation that were given to the Prophets). A messenger is a prophet who comes with abrogating some of the laws brought by the previous messenger or receives a new set of laws. Prophets were intelligent, trustworthy, and truthful. They never commit major sins and never leave their Religion. Many prophets have lived in the past. Muhammad, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, who lived some 1400 years ago, was the last and greatest prophet.

Other prophets before Muhammad include: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph (son of Jacob), David, Solomon, Moses, and Jesus, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon all of them.
The true scriptures were Revelations received by the prophets. Moses and Jesus both received scriptures, but what are now called the Torah and the Bible have been tampered with by man and are not the true Revelations received by the great messengers Moses and Jesus. The only scripture which is unchanged and will never be changed is the Qur'an, which is the scripture Allah revealed to Muhammad, His last prophet, in clear and eloquent Arabic. Allah has promised to protect the Qur'an from any changes by man. Hence, it has remained unchanged since it was revealed some 1400 years ago. Unlike the prophets before him who were sent to a particular people, Muhammad was sent to all people who would lived at his time and all people who would live after him until the Day of Judgment.

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
On a day which only Allah knows (not even the angels or prophets know it), Allah will make all the creatures who are still living on the Earth and in the skies die (including Satan and other devils and angels). Then Allah will resurrect them all. Then He will judge humans and jinn on what they did during their lives. They will be rewarded or punished, by Allah's will, for what they believed, said, and did by their own choice.

PARADISE
Those of mankind and jinn who believe corrrectly in Allah, and believe in the Messenger sent to them and profess their belief (i.e., becoming followers of the true Religion) and die with that status will dwell forever in Paradise, which Allah has created for them. The life in Paradise is better than what any human living on Earth can imagine. Those in Paradise will experience it in body and soul, but the body will be a new body with no defects. Paradise is not allegorical. It is a very real and actual place. Therein will be wonderful riches, foods, joys, and peace. People will be married and have interaction with one another. Those in Paradise will be in various ranks according to their piety. Those who are rewarded with Paradise will never be sent out of it.

HELL
Hell, another creation of Allah, is the dwelling place for those of humans and jinn who reject the revelations of the prophets. Hence, they disbelieve in Allah and His messengers. Hell is also a particular place and its torture is not experienced here on Earth. The suffering will also be in body and soul. Some of the followers of the true Religion, who sinned but did not repent during their lifetime, will suffer in Hell for some time. Being believers of the true Religion, they will get out of Hell after a time which Allah wills. Then they will enter Paradise and dwell there forever and receive no further punishment. Some believers of the true Religion who die as sinners will be forgiven by Allah on the Day of Judgment and will not go to Hell before entering Paradise.

LIFE AND DEATH
This life of a human or jinn always ends with death and there is no exception. Humans do not choose their race, sex, parents, or birthplace. Thus, they will not be held accountable for those aspects of their life on the Day of Judgment. No human is doomed to Hell because he was born from a certain sex or race. Allah, the Merciful, has promised that any human or jinn who dies as a follower of the true Religion will receive Paradise forever.
The correct belief in Allah does not change. Every prophet and messenger has said the same concerning belief in Allah : No one is God but Allah, and mankind is to believe in Him and worship Him only. The prophet for the people on Earth at present is Muhammad, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, and the laws for the present population are the laws that Prophet Muhammad was given by Allah for mankind. There will be no new laws given, for there will be no new messenger or prophet.

SATAN
Satan, the first jinn, was present with the angels when Allah ordered him and the angels to bow down in respect before Adam. Satan did not bow down in respect. He objected to Allah and said he was better than Adam, because he was made from fire whereas Adam was made from clay. Because of this objection, Allah damned Satan and banished him. Satan vowed that he would try to persuade humans to accept false belief and to perform false worship and shameful conduct. Allah promised that Satan and those who follow him will go to Hell on the Day of Judgment.
Satan is man's accursed enemy. His vow to ruin many of mankind is not to be taken lightly. He attempts to confuse and ruin man by his prompting and making bad deeds seem good. A person is not sinful when Satan whispers to him; he is sinful if he believes and/or acts on the prompting. Although humans must believe that Satan exists and take the warning about him very seriously, we must remember that Allah has full power over Satan. Satan can do nothing against the will of Allah . When a believer of the true Religion strives to follow Allah's orders and asks Allah for protection from Satan, he must not doubt Allah's great protection and mercy.

RELIGION
There is only one true Religion, that of holding the correct belief in Allah and His messengers, worshipping Allah only, and loving, respecting, and following the prophet of the time and loving and respecting the other prophets. Every prophet and messenger followed and called people to the same Religion; this Religion is called ISLAM. A believer in ISLAM is called a MUSLIM. The meaning of the word Islam is "to submit to Allah ". The meaning of the word Muslim is "one who submits to Allah ."The name Allah is the name of the only true God. It means the one who is attributed with the power to create things. Although prophets and messengers spoke different languages, what they called people to was the same Religion, Islam. A person can declare that he
believes and follows the true Religion, Islam, in any language. Belief is known to Allah regardless of the language. Those who say they are Muslims, yet deny the true belief in their heart, with their tongue, or by some actions, are surely not Muslims. Allah knows fully who are the ones who truly believe in Islam. Both messengers Moses and Jesus called their people to the true Religion, Islam. This fact is clearly described in the Qur'an, the last and preserved scripture for all of mankind on Earth.

JESUS
Jesus, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, is dearly loved by Muslims, for he is one of the greatest messengers and he is one of the most loved creations to Allah. Jesus has no father; he was created within his mother, Mary, a woman chosen above others.
By Allah's will, Prophet Jesus performed many miracles and was obedient to Allah in every way. Jesus spoke only the truth and his followers were Muslims. Never did Jesus say he was Allah, "the son of Allah", or that his followers should pray to him or to anyone other than Allah. Jesus is a man, but had no father; Adam was a man but had neither a father nor a mother. The Qur'an tells us that the Jews did not crucify Jesus as some believe. He was not crucified at all. By Allah's will, Jesus was raised from Earth. Jesus is alive in the second Heaven. Allah will send Jesus back to Earth before the Day of Judgment. Jesus will attest that Islam is the true faith and that Prophet Muhammad is the last messenger. He will follow the laws that Allah gave to Muhammad, and slay the one-eyed impostor.

SINS
When a person goes against Allah's orders (which are conveyed by His messenger), he sins. The worst sin is blasphemy. It is caused by any belief, saying, or action that contradicts Islam. When a person becomes Muslim he leaves all blasphemy. A Muslim must learn about blasphemy to avoid commiting any of them as he proceeds through life. If a Muslim commits blasphemy, he becomes non-Muslim (apostate) and must become Muslim again. If a Muslim commits a sin which is less than blasphemy and dies without repenting to Allah of the sin, then this sin is counted against him on the Day of Judgment, unless Allah forgives it for him. On the other hand, if a Muslim follows Allah's orders, in obedience to Him, this is counted in his favor. All of this is known by Allah and no thing escapes Him.
When a Muslim commits sins, he must repent of them immediately. To repent of blasphemy, one must utter the Two Testifications of Faith, with the intention to clear oneself of the committed blasphemy. The Testifications of Faith (Shahadahs) can be stated as follows:
"I testify that I only worship my Creator and I testify that Muhammad is God's Messenger.
Any statement equivalent to the Testifications of Faith is also accepted.
For a sin less than blasphemy, one must stop doing the sin, regret having done it, and have the intention not to commit the same sin again. If the sin is stealing from a person, for example, then the stolen goods must be returned as well. Allah is ever-merciful to the Muslim. No matter how many times the Muslim sins in his life, if he stops it, regrets having done it, and intends not to do it again, he will be forgiven by Allah. However, for those who are non-Muslim, no matter what good deeds they do, they receive no credit in the Hereafter; they must first become Muslim.
A few examples of blasphemy are: believing that Allah has a son, worshipping an idol, and saying that Allah does not know everything. Some examples of sins less than blasphemy are: killing a person unjustly, adultery, drinking alcohol, and stealing. When a Muslim makes sincere repentance, as was described, it is as though he did not sin, in that he will not be punished for what he repented of, for Allah is ever-merciful to the Muslims. Also, when a person becomes a Muslim for the first time, Allah forgives all his past sins.

PRAYER
Upon the order of Allah, Prophet Muhammad commanded the Muslims to pray five times a day. This order applies since the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad until the Day of Judgment. The prayers have a specific format with the one praying praising and thanking Allah, asking for His help and guidance, and asking Him to bless the prophets and the pious Muslims. A Muslim knows that at any moment of his life he can ask Allah for help and guidance, and he is encouraged to do so. However, supplicating Allah does not replace the five prescribed prayers, which have a specific format to be followed.

BECOMING A MUSLIM
A person becomes a Muslim by leaving all that contradicts the meaning of the following Two Testifications of Faith, believing in the heart and declaring with the tongue:
"No one deserves worship but God, the Creator. And Muhammad is the Messenger of God"
Saying any statement equivalent to the Two Testifications of Faith in any language is also valid.
Believing in all this implies that: Allah, the Creator, has perfect attributes; only Allah must be worshipped; Prophet Muhammad, the last prophet, was truthful in all that he conveyed from Allah; all the prophets, peace be upon them, before him (the first of whom was Adam) conveyed the same message of belief to their people; they are to be loved and respected, yet in no way do prophets (or any creation) have Allah's attributes.
A person can become Muslim, as aforementioned, in the solitude of a forest or in a crowded subway; he does not need to go to a mosque or have Muslims witness his profession. Allah knows the hearts of His creation. However, when the person becomes Muslim, he may declare his belief to some fellow Muslims so that he will be known as a Muslim among the people.
Don't hesitate to embrace Islam; it is the gateway to success. To anyone who becomes Muslim while reading this booklet, we advise you to seek knowledge as to the practice of Islam from a trustworthy Muslim teacher. As people go to college to be taught by those knowledgeable about different subjects, one must go to a learned Muslim to learn about the practice of Islam. For a devoted Muslim, there will always be more to learn and more ways to improve; so arrogance is not a part of a good Muslim's life.

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the heavens and earth. Allah knows best.

Yes, thank you, I am a divine ray of light...

I enjoy reading about the great islamic writers such as :

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207 – 1273)


Ibn Rashid (1126 – 1198 known as Averroes from Andalucia)


Al Ghazali (1058-1111)

Ibn Arabi (born 1165 in Murcia, Spain and died 1240 in Damascus)

Has anyone here read their writing? We would enjoy learning about their learned writings also, apart from the Holy Quran..

I actually meant samsparky LOL I just checked out her?/his? profile and it says that she?/he? is female LOL

Rumi is one of my fav Poets too
then comes Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Bulley Shah(also a sufi Poet ) and Mirza Ghalib
but you know what,"mainstream" muslims don't consider rumi or Allama Iqbal to be muslim

The World of Rumi





Al Arabi too has been labelled thus. His works apparently contains the same kind of resonance of rhythmic prose which are to be found in the Quran. Does anyone who knows arabic here read his books in original language?



Samsparky is another divine ray of light then!



Thank you v much sparky! Sorry, I don't quite understand this last paragraph. Do u mean that the arabic folks at the time of the Prophet Jesus as well as the time of Prophet Mohammed were jinn believers until the Prophet Mohammed revealed the teachings of Allah to his followers?

Just about Rumi, just from reading that extract you had there - anyone who says about themself non-Muslim is a non-Muslim - doesn't matter how poetic he thinks he's being - it's not a game.

About the question, it was known to the Muslims even from the time of Prophet Adam that there was such thing as jinn. And our Prophet MuHammad taught us about our qareen from the jinn who orders us with bad - but the qareen of Prophet MuHammad became a Muslim.

So the issue of jinn was widely known to the people.

Sparky, it is not possible to talk about religion and evolution at the same time without slagging one off and praising the other.. so it's best not to compare spirituality with science

Hehe...I am tickled to think that Prophet Adam could have known how to speak swahili!! Jambo bwana.. juz kiddin' By the way, what kind of revelations did Prophet Adam make?



True, it's not a game, it's finding the common spirit in all humankind. One can call oneself a muslim and still behave as a non-muslim, correct?

Is this a hadith maybe I've never heard of ? if so can you pls tell me which hadith it is ?

tangawizi:

Adam was Revealed to like all Prophets. They all had the same belief but some differed in rules. For example, in the set of Rules Revealed to Prophet Adam, the male from one set of twins could marry the female from a different set of twins. Because Eve used to give birth to twins except for 1 pregnancy.

Another point is that everything we say we are accountable for.

The person who curses Allaah is a blasphemer, whether or not he believes in what he says, and whether or not he feels delighted about saying it.

Surat an-Nahl, Verse 106 means: [He who blasphemes after having believed will be severely punished by Allaah. Excluded is the one who is forced to blaspheme while one’s heart is certain with faith and one is not pleased with blasphemy].

Imaam an-Nawawiyy said: “If a man was angry with his child or young slave and hit him severely, then another person asked him, ‘How could you do this? Aren’t you a Muslim?’ and to that his deliberate answer was ‘No’, he blasphemed.”

This was said by Hanafiyy scholars as well as others.

Another point is that the sound intellect is a witness for the truth of Islaam. Using it to prove Islaam correct is something we are encouraged to do and that is how we speak to scientists - using the sound intellect.

pun:
I heard it quite a while ago. I will try to get you more details.

For now I'll leave it at that - good night.

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
Thnx afif for the invitation...
I'm in....

Dear sparky, forgive me but sound intellect is just incompatible with spiritual matters. I'd humbly admit to you I cannot begin to see what sound intellect is behind the notion that Adam and Eve propagated the human race through sets of twins who intermarried. This sounds like an episode from the X-files...

I must admit to you too that I've never gotten a satisfactory answer from a christian on this issue either.

In my humble opinion, when we ponder about spirituality matters, how we came about is really inconsequential. However, how we will end up when we are on our deathbeds is more of an enlightening thing to ponder upon.

Salam, nice to meet you

It's quite interesting to know that there are similarities between Islam and what the ancient sages of India, Taoists, Buddhists, have been teaching. Sometimes I feel if many Muslims truly follow this part of the Islamic religion, then maybe we wouldn't have so many extremists/fanatics going around committing acts of violence in the name of religion. As their behavior/actions would go against what Islam truly asks from its followers: moderation, self-discipline.

Too many Muslims, from what I have seen, tend to practice Islam dogmatically. They teach and preach without allowing their students to analyze the materials presented in order to attain their own form of enlightenment to better strengthen their faith. Thus the students only "know" but they do not "understand". And many end up being self-righteous or sanctimonious towards others who they deem are not as "good" of a Muslim as they are...and many also turn towards extremism/fanaticism.

It's a disheartening trend amongst many Muslim communities, and I don't know if it's one that will change anytime soon. I see it happening in my own, and the criticisms about it have fallen on the deaf ears of the elders...they feel that questioning/analyzing religion would lead us astray but how else are we to attain enlightenment, how else are we to truly embrace Islam as our own faith (and not just the faith of our parents/ancestors) if we do not question/analyze it...?

Goodnight and salaam!

Spiritual teachings have to widen and broaden the mind, and not narrow and close the mind to the common humanity in us all.

I hope the old philosophers like Rumi, Al Arabi, Ibn Rashid and their opponents like Al Ghazali will enjoy a revival and be studied again widely by all for their teachings represent the common spirituality in us all.

Whether or not it is "ok for you" to drink or not is truly up to you, as I do not know your capabilities/limitations.

Personally, I have tried a sip of alcohol, several years back. I did find it to be tasty, and because I liked the taste that is more reason for me to stay away from it.

Alcohol is a very addictive drug, although just "how addictive" can vary from person to person. Thus even if you take a sip, the chances of you going further than "just a sip" is quite high, especially if you like the taste of it (or you feel any form of peer/societal pressure). A dependency on alcohol, for all sorts of reasons, will always begin with "just a sip"...so if you feel that you aren't able to control it to "just a sip", then perhaps it is best to not even try it.

Here is a link from wikipedia about the effects of alcohol on the body:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_alcohol_on_the_body

As for it being a "sin", regardless of the amount consumed, for me, only Allah can decide the extent of our own sins, however big or small. But I will repeat that the reasons alcohol is considered a sin is because of its potential to inflict harm to ourselves and to those around us...so for me, I'd rather not touch it than open the way for the possible negative effects of alcohol to creep into my life...
there are some positives to alcohol, but as I said before, I believe the negatives far outweigh the positives.



salam and goodnight to you too!

and I very much agree with you. Please enlighten me with the writings of the old philosophers, I have not been exposed to them. What pieces of theirs would you, or anyone here, recommend?

My question goes to "sparky" too,how can you back up your interpretation with the "twins" theory dear samsparky ??? with the quran or the hadith ??? I think its again something that you've heard from somebody! Ill repeat myself when I say that it is very sad that many I mean really many muslims just follow blindly the so called Islamic scholars/Mullahs/Muftis without studing the quran itself.You know it is written in the Quran,that we shouldn't follow anyone or anything blindly and that God provided us with the sight,hearing and intlligence!



I'll back up my interpretation again with a Verse from the Holy Quran which shows that the creation of man was the culmination of a gradual process and that it is not correct to say that God formed man out of clay and breathed His spirit into him.



Masaa al'khair good night


What kind of problems do you mean shiro ???